Why does Roger Federer leaving Nike for Uniqlo feel so ... wrong?

He had 300 million good reasons.

On Monday, Roger Federer played a tennis match while wearing white clothing that looked pretty much identical to what he’s worn in each of his 20 appearances at Wimbledon. The eight-time champion donned a crisp, tailored shirt with shorts cut just above the knee and a cloth head band to complete the ensemble. (All white, of course.) The lone difference: the familiar Nike swooshes on the left breast, left shoulder, shorts and head tie were replaced by small, red squares that inside read “UNIQLO.”

And everybody lost their minds.

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In a fashion reveal that had all the drama of Rihanna stepping on the red carpet at the Met Gala, Federer ended weeks of speculation with his wordless entrance onto Centre Court in a jacket made by Uniqlo, the Japanese casual wear designer. It was both a major surprise and the revelation of the worst-kept secret in tennis.

Since the start of June, there had been reports that Federer’s 21-year relationship with Nike would end and a $300 million deal with Uniqlo was imminent. The outerwear clothier wanted to expand its worldwide footprint and make a splash before the biggest showcase in sports – the 2020 Summer Olympics – came to Japan.

But Federer showed up in Stuttgart and Halle wearing his usual Nike gear and then, last week, the company released his outfit scripting for Wimbledon, suggesting that maybe a reconciliation was still in the works. And then Federer showed up to the dance with a different girl on his arm.

The unveiling showed a flair for theatrics that Federer probably enjoys more than he lets on (you can’t be friends with Anna Wintour if you don’t revel in the show a little bit). If you weren’t proclaiming the end of Roger Federer as we knew him or wondering about the repercussions of four-square inches of fabric or lamenting the seismic shift that’d just occurred in tennis, nay, the world, then you were at least writing, talking or thinking about it.

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Pro-Federer or anti-Federer, this mattered. It was the biggest story of the day at the All England Club – far bigger than the defeat of reigning U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, an upset victory by three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka or even Federer’s efficient straight-set victory. But why? Why do people care so much about what clothing is worn by Roger Federer?

It almost certainly has everything to do with the legions of Federer fans worldwide, the ones who turn every match into a home game and wear his gear like it’s a Yankees or Cowboys jersey. (That’s unprecedented for an athlete in an individual sport. Even at his peak, Tiger Woods wasn’t inspiring anyone to rock the red while playing 18.)

Federer’s RF hat is ubiquitous at tennis venues from the majestic grass courts at Wimbledon to the cracked asphalt at your local park. You can’t walk around a tournament without bumping into someone wearing one of the dozens of the cap’s color combinations. Those FedFans make their hero’s ties with Nike seem larger than life. If Rafael Nadal or Serena Williams left Nike, it wouldn’t merit more than a passing mention.

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Why risk alienating legions of fans (as preposterous as that sounds)? The money is a no-brainer – going from a reported $10 million annually with Nike to $30 million annually with Uniqlo doesn’t present much of a decision, especially when the new deal reportedly includes a remarkable clause that says Federer gets paid even if he doesn’t play.

But athletes who have designs on becoming a business, man, aren’t led blindly by dollar signs. LeBron James could have made more short-term money staying in Cleveland but went to L.A. to lay the foundation for his post-athletics future. Federer did the same, but with far more agreeable circumstances. Uniqlo put him in position to win financially and commercially, with hopes of making him bigger in the apparel market than he ever could have been with Nike.

Because for as big as Federer is, and Forbes says he’s the biggest endorser in the sports world, he’d always have been second-fiddle (or third or fourth or fifth) at Nike. That’s Michael Jordan’s domain and even LeBron won’t make inroads there. Going to a new place provides an opportunity for Federer to go beyond brand-building. This is legacy stuff.

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It’s far from a sure thing, however. Beyond outlaying one-third of a billion dollars to a tennis star who probably has four years left, at most, Uniqlo has another major challenge ahead of it. The company needs to make Roger Federer one of its own instead of a Nike carpetbagger who chased the money. For the deal to work, Federer has to become synonymous with the brand. But if so many people consider him synonymous with Nike, is that even possible? You can put a Heineken in James Bond’s hand but everybody still assumes he’s drinking martinis.

Federer’s ties with Nike go back to his days as a temperamental junior with bleached blond hair. He was wearing the swoosh at the start of his career, (when he sported an unsightly ponytail and mixed flashes of brilliance with disappointing Grand Slam results).

It was there when he began winning Slams at an unprecedented clip – five-straight Wimbledons and four-straight U.S. Opens in the mid-2000s. The swoosh was on his chest when his career was flickering and still there when he made his unprecedented comeback. No tennis player has ever been tied with a brand as much as Federer with Nike.

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And he’ll continue to be. Federer will wear the Oregon company’s shoes (Uniqlo isn’t in the market) and has already spoke about a potential sneaker deal with Nike. (He should. Despite all the hand-wringing, a shirt logo is completely irrelevant. But for a 37-year-old with a history of great health, shoes are as important as the racquet. Changing from Nike so late in the game doesn’t seem like a risk worth taking.)

Will the swoosh on the feet overshadow the logo on the chest? It all depends on the aforementioned RF logo. Federer says that his famous interlocking letters, which is currently in possession of Nike, will “come to me at some point, I hope rather sooner than later if Nike can be nice and helpful in the process.” Only Federer could bail for a $300 million deal and make himself the aggrieved party in the process.) It’s crucial for Uniqlo to get rights to the RF if only to sell gear to the fans.

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It’s still weird though – going from the biggest name in sports to a company virtually unknown in the Western world. Federer’s endorsement portfolio screams luxury: Rolex, Mercedes, Credit Suisse and Moet and Chandon. How do those fit with a company that basically clothing’s version of fast food? That’s no knock at Uniqlo. They have their lane. But it’s kind of like Federer letting all his other deals expire and signing up with Fossil, Hyundai, Cash2Go and Andre.

But for as foreign as it feels, this is actually in line with the new Roger. He’s embraced change far more than he did in his stubborn early days and to great success. In the past five years he’s cycled through coaches, retooled his backhand, changed to a larger racquet frame (after years of resistance) and altered his strategy in countering the play of his arch-rival Rafael Nadal. It’s led to his greatest run of tennis since 2009. Why not keep rolling

And in the meantime, Uniqlo better start coming up with designs for English garden-party cardigans to wear at Wimbledon.

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